Clarke, 43, collapsed while working out Monday morning. A fitness director and physical therapist rushed to his aid and began CPR. He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The actual cause of the death is not known at this time.

Clarke had been with the Lincoln Police Department since Sept. 1991. He was assigned as head trainer of the canine unit. He served as a canine handler for more than 15 years.

During his career, he also served as a field training officer, a firearms instructor, assisted with police summer camp and coached midget football.

Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong said Clarke was an accomplished officer with many commendations. He received an award in 1999 for his efforts to find a missing Alzheimer's patient. Clarke continued searching the area long after the search was called off for the night and ultimately found the victim.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use. KETV NewsWatch 7 offers readers the ability to comment on stories with the understanding that these comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or used on KETV NewsWatch 7 newscasts. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, comments that don't relate to the story and any personal remarks. THIS IS IMPORTANT: KETV NewsWatch 7 does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not, at times, find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in this area. If you find a comment that is objectionable or offensive, click the flag that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. Flagged comments may be automatically hidden from comment threads. For comments to appear on the website and/or the mobile app, email addresses must be verified through Disqus. We ask the community to monitor this forum with the knowledge that KETV NewsWatch 7 does not regularly monitor these comments.